Intramolecular Cyclopropanation of Alkene-Tethered CF3-Imidoyl Sulfoxonium Ylides: Synthesis of Cyclopropane-Fused Quinolines

Org Lett. 2025 Jun 6;27(22):5783-5787. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.5c01563. Epub 2025 May 21.

Abstract

A metal-free intramolecular cyclopropanation of CF3-imidoyl sulfoxonium ylides with styrenes was developed, affording cyclopropane-fused quinolines. This strategy provides efficient access to diverse trifluoromethyl-substituted dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[c]quinolines under mild, transition-metal-free conditions. Notably, the sulfoxonium ylide generation and subsequent cyclopropanation could proceed in a one-pot fashion, affording the products in good yields.